Deutsche Bank has an ethics problem - not an image problem

Last week the Frankfurt headquarters of Deutsche Bank was raided by German authorities investigating massive tax fraud. An outraged Co-Chief Executive Officer Juergen Fitschen
called Volker Bouffier, the prime minister of the state of
Hesse, to complain about the impact television pictures of the
raids would have on the bank’s reputation. The state was tarnishing the image of Germany's most powerful financial institution - symbol of German strength and solidity.

As the TAZ points out, such phone calls might have worked in the past - even several years ago as Germany's head of state celebrated Josef Ackermann's birthday. But today the public, the state, and even the shareholders, have had enough of Deutsche Bank's unethical - and probably illegal - buisness practices:

(Deutsche Bank's most recent scandal underscores the basic problem: the entire business model is based on plunder. Everybody gets fleeced - not just the state, but also the shareholders.

A recent independent study came to the conclusion that DB shareholders have not seen any profits in the past decade. Even though 19.8 billion in dividends were paid out, the bank neexed 27 billion euros in additional capital. At the same time the market valuation declined, since 19.3 billion euros in silent reserves were released.

Where are these billions? They were pocketed by DB's own investment bankers. Deutsche Bank was plundered by its own top officials. And it fits this culture perfectly that the state is robbed as well.)

Deutsche Bank may have played a positive role in Germany's postwar reconstruction, financing the economic miracle with its lending power as the capital markets were being reconstituted, but those times have long since passed. The bank's practices today can only be described as destructive.